Activities using Web 2.0
Youtube Videos- Veritasium Beaker Balance Problem Overview One of the most useful ICT resources available to teachers is Youtube. There are countless channels available devoted to education, many of which have a strong focus on Science. One such example is the Youtube channel Veritasium. Many of his videos involve explanations of scientific phenomena, often preceded by a question for the audience. I have chosen specifically to focus on his Beaker Balance Problem video. The video looks at a scenario where two idenitcal beakers are balances, one with a heavy ball suspended in water and the other with a ping bong ball tethered to the bottom of the beaker. Upon consideration of the set up, you are asked to make a prediction of what happens before viewing the next video with the result and answer. Use within a classroom This video is useful for testing student understanding of forces, and allows them to practice applying the theory of forces to real life scenarios. The teacher should begin by playing the first video, showing the set up (top image). This could then be followed by a period of thinking time, in which the students try to figure out their own answer. Once they have come to a conclusion, they can then discuss it with a peer, explaining their reasoning and trying to convince their friends. This actively engages students in thinking about the theory and gives them practice in communicating with others using scientific terminology. Following group discussion, students should then be shown the second video, containing the solution and the explanation (bottom image). This immediately allows students to get feedback on their answer and explanation of where they went wrong or what they did correctly. Who is this for? This is for students currently studying the NSW Stage 4 Science syllabus. This should be used when learning about forces.The relevant outcomes and dot points are listed below, Outcomes SC4-8WS selects and uses appropriate strategies, understanding and skills to produce creative and plausible solutions to identified problems SC4-10PW describes the action of unbalanced forces in everyday situations Content PW1a. identify changes that take place when particular forces are acting PW1b. predict the effect of unbalanced forces acting in everyday situations Where can I get this? The video can be found at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD3hbVG1yxM Trivia- Moles and Stoichiometry Overview The Moles and Stoichiometry game linked below is a trivia game modelled off the gameshow Jeopardy. In the game, users select topics and question difficulty, answering chemistry related questions and achieving a score based on their difficulty. There are two player modes available for students to play against one another, Use within a classroom This game makes a very good practice and revision tool for students. The teacher should use this to encourage students to practice stoichiometric calculations and to strengthen understanding of the concept of the mole. The best set up in the classroom will be to have pairs of students competing against one another. The competitive nature of the game will keep students engaged with the activity, while the varying level of difficulty allows them to work at their own level. If there are limitations to the number of computers available then students can work in small teams. This will also encourage students to share answers and teach each one another, allowing students who are struggling to see varied approaches to answering the questions. It is important that not too much emphasis be placed on the competitive aspect though, as it may discourage some students who aren't doing as well. The use of the scoring system is also valuable to teacher as they can collect the students scores to gauge the degree of student understanding. Higher scores will generally be indicative of students with a firm understanding of the topic while poor understanding will reflect in lower scores. Who is this for? This is ideal for students currently studying the Stage 6 Preliminary Chemistry course. Outcomes P10. A student applies simple stoichiometric relationships Content 8.3.4.2.1 Students learn to define the mole as the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of Carbon-12 (Avagadro’s number) 8.3.4.2.4 Students learn to recountAvogadro’s law and describe its importance in developing the mole concept 8.3.4.3.3 Students solve problems and analyse information from secondary sources to perform calculations involving Avagadro’s number and the equation for calculating the number of moles in a substance: n=m/M Where can I get this? The game is available at: http://www.quia.com/cb/33492.html?AP_rand=2055300987&playHTML=1 Pandemic- A game demonstrating Evolution Overview The Pandemic game is a free to play flash game which sees its players guide the evolution of a disease. The aim of the game is to evolve the properties of their disease to best facilitate it's spread. Some of the properties that can be changed include the visible symptoms, the transmission mechanism, environmental and antibiotic resistance and the disease class (virus, bacteria or parasite). Use within a classroom This game is useful for engaging students with the ideas behind evolution, as well as providing a starting point for discussions on the social issues related to disease control and scientific research. This is best suited to be placed just after a series of lessons detailing the mechanisms of evolution. The students should be asked to play the game for perhaps half an hour, answering questions on a worksheet as they go. The questions should begin with simple, theory based questions, such as "Each time you change a trait in your disease, what are you modelling" (mutations) or "What property of your disease made it suitable to it's environment? Why would this cause it to spread?". Following game play, the teacher should lead a class discussion on the nature of scientific research and it's responsiveness to current social issues, with particular focus being placed on vaccination research. Who is this for? This activity is best suited for a lower ability or unmotivated Stage 5 science class. The game is a fun and engaging activity that, if used effectively, can garner insight into the key concepts behind evolution, namely survival of the fittest and adaptation. It is recommended for lower ability or unmotivated classes as there are other, more effective ways in which the topic can be taught, but this game can be used in order to increase students involvement. Outcomes SC5-14LW analyses interactions between components and processes within biological systems SC5-15LW explains how biological understanding has advanced through scientific discoveries, technological developments and the needs of society Content LW1 c. outline some responses of the human body to infectious and non-infectious diseases LW1 e. discuss, using examples, how the values and needs of contemporary society can influence the focus of scientific research, eg the occurrence of diseases affecting animals and plants, an epidemic or pandemic disease in humans or lifestyle related non-infectious diseases in humans LW4 c. explain, using examples, how natural selection relates to changes in a population, eg in the development of resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and insects to pesticides LW4 d. outline the roles of genes and environmental factors in the survival of organisms in a population Where can I get this? The game is available to play for free at this website: http://pandemic3.com Foldit- Real Science, Real fun Overview Foldit is a game in which players are given the task of folding proteins based on simple physical rules such as size, shape, repulsion and attraction. The game uses realistic models to produce accurate results, and thus, the developers use the data gather by gamers in real scientific research. Crowdsourcing research to the public in the form of a game has lead to several breakthroughs, most notably, the discovery of the structure of an Enzyme produced by the HIV virus in 2011. Use within a classroom The game is valuable to HSC biology students as it demonstrates the concept of protein folding, polypeptides and the importance of shape. More importantly though, using the game allows the students to recognise the interplay between technology and science, allowing them to observe different ways of presenting information and collecting data. In a class, the students should be introduced to the concept of proteins, polypeptides and the relevant theory in a previous lesson. The game should be used at the start of the next lesson as a fun introduction to class, but also to refresh their memory as well as help give visual representations of the concept. The teacher should then subsequently lead the class in a discussion of the nature of science and technology, and the ways in which our understanding of biology has allowed us to develop games that get the community involved in real science. The activity is likely to be very engaging as it is not only a fun, simple game, but the students will enjoy the idea of being involved in real scientific research, especially considering the impact the game has already had on the area of research. Who is this for? This task is best used for Students in the HSC biology course studying the Blueprint of life topic or the Genetics: The Code Broken? topic. Outcomes H3. A student assesses the impact of particular advances in biology on the development of technologies H11 Justifies the appropriateness of a particular investigation plan H15 Explains why an investigation is best undertaken individually or by a team Content 11.1 e. Recommend the use of an appropriate technology or strategy for data collection or gathering information that will assist efficient future analysis 9.3.4.2.3 Students learn to explain the relationship between proteins and polypeptides Where can I get this? Foldit is available at: https://fold.it/portal/ Wordle- Depicting key terminology Overview Wordle is a word mapping software, in which a user selected input of words is combined to create colourful images out of the words. It is possible to select the size and colour of the words. This is useful for creating posters to be pinned around the class containing important terms for a topic. Use within a classroom Wordle is a useful tool for engaging students by making a fun, bright poster out of content relevant terms. To begin, the teacher should ask the class to contribute jargonistic terms relates to a course topic. The example I shall focus on is the 'The Chemical Earth' module in the HSC chemistry course. At the end of the topic, the teacher will ask the students for a list of the key terms and put them in to wordle. This will create a colourful poster which can be given to students or places on the walls (see left). The teacher should use these posters as a revision exercise and repeatedly refer back to the poster, asking students to define terms and relate two define the relationship between certain terms. Who is this for? The example used is for students undertaking the Preliminary HSC course. This group was chosen due to the large volume of scientific terms and technical language used within the preliminary chemistry course. This approach can also be used in any other Science course as a means of recalling and revising specific terms. Outcomes P.13 Identifies appropriate terminology and reporting styles to communicate information and understanding Where can I get this? Wordle is accessible at: http://www.wordle.net Tracker- The real world in motion Overview Tracker is an open source, free to use software that is available on all operating systems. The software is used to analyse videos of objects in motion in order to extract information about said objects velocity, displacement and acceleration. The information can be displayed in a number of graphical formats and thus gives students practice in data interpretation and manipulation. Use within a classroom The software can be used in an investigation into impulse, momentum and forces for preliminary physics students. There is a good video on youtube using this software to analyse the force exerted by a crickets legs as it jumps. The teacher should begin by providing students with the video of the cricket jumping, which is freely available, and guide them through recreating the graph themselves. Following this, the students can be asked to extrapolate the acceleration from the graph in a similar manner to the youtube video and thus calculating the force exerted by the grasshopper using Newtons Second law. For a particularly advanced class, they can pursue this further and obtain estimates of impulse, momentum and maximum velocity of the cricket. This is a very interesting investigation and will likely be very effective in engaging students with the content as it allows them to directly apply the theory to real word scenarios. Who is this for? This activity is ideally suited for Preliminary Physics students studying the Moving about Topic. There are also applications for the HSC physics Space topic. Outcomes: H6. Explains events in terms of Newton’s Laws, Law of Conservation of Momentum and relativity H11. Justifies the appropriateness of a particular investigation plan H12. Evaluates ways in which accuracy and reliability could be improved in investigations Content: 11.1 identify data sources to: d) identify and use correct units for data that will be collected e) recommend the use of an appropriate technology or strategy for data collection or information gathering that will assist efficient future analysis 12.2 gather first-hand information by: a) using appropriate data collection techniques, employing appropriate technologies, including data loggers and sensors 8.4.4.3.1 Solve problems and analyse secondary data using p=mv and impulse=Ft Where can I get this? The software is available at: http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dbrown/tracker/ The video detailing the process is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-JVepPdZbY The screen grabs featured here come from the Smarter Everyday Video featured above. Wikia- student made content pages Overview Wikia is a free to use wiki generator that allows members of the public to create their own articles and webpages. It is a useful resource for presenting and communicating information and can be worked on collaboratively or individually. Use within a classroom The use of Wiki's is primarily an exercise in appropriate Science communication and in gathering information from secondary resources. The teacher should instruct the students to research the relevant content. In our example, we have chosen to have the students researching the chemical world topic. It is recommended that the students perform this task after being taught much of the content to ensure they have some understanding. They must then gather more detailed information on the ideas of the atom, density, particle theory, etc and present them in a class wiki page. The content should include pictures, diagrams and even videos that help explain the topics. The students should all be given a little section to work on in groups as the collaborative nature of a wiki means they can all contribute to a section and at the end have a detailed page that doesn't take too long to create. By making the wiki publicly accessible to the class, the students can then use the information as a study point. The value of the wiki is that, if the teacher scaffolds the page correctly, the information should flow smoothly and help with student organisation. Who is this for? Wikia can be used by any student in the NSW schooling system, but it is particularly applicable to Stage 4 students. The exercise is suited as it gets them to engage in science communication and identify the best ways to present information while also providing them experience in gathering data from second hand resources. It is useful for the year 8 chemical world course as there are numerous resources regarding the basic theory that the students can utilise and gather available on the internet and in text books. Outcomes SC4-7WS A student processes and analyses data from a first-hand investigation and secondary sources to identify trends, patterns and relationships, and draw conclusions SC4-9WS A student presents science ideas, findings and information to a given audience using appropriate scientific language, text types and representations SC4-16CW A student describes the observed properties and behaviour of matter, using scientific models and theories about the motion and arrangement of particles Content WS7.1 Students process data and information by: d. accessing information from a range of sources, including using digital technologies WS9 Students communicate by: a. presenting ideas, findings and solutions to problems using scientific language and representations using digital technologies as appropriate c. using a recognised method to acknowledge sources of data and information CW1. Students: a. describe the behaviour of matter in terms of particles that are continuously moving and interacting b. relate an increase or decrease in the amount of heat energy possessed by particles to changes in particle movement c. use a simple particle model to predict the effect of adding or removing heat on different states of matter d. relate changes in the physical properties of matter to heat energy and particle movement that occur during observations of evaporation, condensation, boiling, melting and freezing e. explain density in terms of a simple particle model Where can I get this? Wikia is available at this website: http://www.wikia.com/Wikia Blogger- Logging experiment progress Overview Blogger is a free to use online tool that allows people to produce online blogs, posting pictures, comments, links and files in a sequential page that is easy to follow. The app is available as part of the google suite. Use within a classroom Blogger is an ideal resource for students wanting to document a science experiment. They can have a sequential series of blogs posting their ideas, method, research, experimental results and conclusions online for their classmates or teachers to see. An example of the type of project used would be for students examining the growth of a plant depending on sunlight exposure in their classrooms. They can each set up a blog detailing what they wish to test, and how they might go about testing it. Once they set up their experiments in class, they can observe them each lesson, writing a brief note to the blog as a form of data recording. This is useful as it allows the teacher to monitor their progress, but also teaches the students about different means of communication in science. The activity is likely to engage students as they are able to interact with each others blogs through the use of comments and can thus review and exchange ideas amongst their peers, as well as demonstrate any unique approaches they might have. Who is this for? This activity is best kept for year 7 science students. It is a useful means of introducing students to the concept of recording data and science communication, but the informal setting can tend to mean that students aren't practicing science writing skills (as can be seen in the example). Because of this, it is recommended that the activity be given as an introductory task into experimentation. Outcomes SC4-4WS identifies questions and problems that can be tested or researched and makes predictions based on scientific knowledge SC4-5WS collaboratively and individually produces a plan to investigate questions and problems SC4-6WS follows a sequence of instructions to safely undertake a range of investigation types, collaboratively and individually SC4-9WS presents science ideas, findings and information to a given audience using appropriate scientific language, text types and representations SC4-14LW relates the structure and function of living things to their classification, survival and reproduction Content WS5.1 Students identify data to be collected in an investigation by: a. identifying the purpose of an investigation b. proposing the type of information and data that needs to be collected in a range of investigation types, including first-hand and secondary sources WS5.2 Students plan first-hand investigations by: a. collaboratively and individually planning a range of investigation types, including fieldwork, experiments, surveys and research WS6 Students conduct investigations by: c. selecting equipment to collect data with accuracy appropriate to the task d. following the planned procedure, including in fair tests, measuring and controlling variables WS9 Students communicate by: a. presenting ideas, findings and solutions to problems using scientific language and representations using digital technologies as appropriate LW2 b. Students identify structures within cells, including the nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell wall and chloroplast, and describe their functions LW3 a. Students identify the materials required by multicellular organisms for the processes of respiration and photosynthesis Where can I get this? Blogger is available at this link: www.blogger.com Socrative- quick quizzes and poles Overview Socrative is a free service allowing people to create quizzes and questionnaires to be answered. The website particularly targets classrooms, allowing teachers to assess their students understanding of concepts and terms through multiple choice or short answer responses. Use within a classroom Socrative should be used primarily as an assessment tool. Teachers should teach the content and then use Socrative to run short quizzes either at the end of the lesson or at the beginning of the next lesson to garner levels of student understanding. The benefit of the socrative program is that is provides all students access through an internet connected device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop and provides them with immediate feedback on their answers. The example given here highlights an ideal use of this program in testing a students recollection of specific terminology, such as the nature of fundamental particles. The activity is also useful in providing a starting point on in class discussion or allowing students to express their opinions on scientific topics. The engagement of the activity all depends on the way in which the teacher presents it, however it is generally the case that students enjoy these sorts of interactive quizzes. Who is this for? This program can be used for all Science students. The example given above demonstrates it's use with year 10 science students. Outcomes: SC5-16CW explains how models, theories and laws about matter have been refined as new scientific evidence becomes available Content: CW1 Students: a. identify that all matter is made of atoms which are composed of protons, neutrons and electrons b. describe the structure of atoms in terms of the nucleus, protons, neutrons and electrons Where can I get this? Socrative can be accessed at: www.socrative.com Virtual Labs- Following the Scientific process Overview Virtual labs is an interactive module designed to teach the scientific method and to give students the chance to follow the thought processes of real scientists in a replication of their papers. The Virtual labs module looks at actual research papers and recreates their experiment, providing all relevant information and data, as well as clear explanations of any conclusions drawn or decisions made in the experimental procedure. Using this in a classroom The virtual labs web page features several biology simulations that recreate experiments in a virtual setting. The focus of this wiki has been on the Experiment testing natural Selection in Guppies. These activities are rather informative but do take quite a long time. Ideally, a whole lesson will be devoted to this activity and the relevant discussion. The best way to present this topic is to have the teacher follow through the module in front of the class, asking questions and inciting discussion as they proceed. The length of the modules and the amount of reading make it unlikely that the majority of students will remain engaged if they were left to do it on their own, however, by breaking the task with discussion and providing students with opportunity to respond, it is likely that they will remain engaged. If you take the evolution module as an example, the teacher should run through the relevant observations and theory presented in the first tab and ask the students to contribute ideas for the hypothesis. Once that is decided, the class can observe the experimental method where the teacher can once again break to discuss the use of controls and variable, as well as the ethics of the experiment (The experiment involves predation of guppies and so could not be performed by the students themselves. Moreover, this is a good way of introducing the ethics process in the wider scientific community). Finally, the class can end with analysis of the results and how they have answered the hypothesis. Who is this for? These modules are ideally suited for students studying the topics of Evolution and natural selection in stage 5 Science. Outcomes SC5-4WS develops questions or hypotheses to be investigated scientifically SC5-7WS processes, analyses and evaluates data from first-hand investigations and secondary sources to develop evidence-based arguments and conclusions SC5-14LW analyses interactions between components and processes within biological systems Content WS4 Students question and predict by: a. formulating questions or hypotheses that can be investigated scientifically b. predicting outcomes based on observations and scientific knowledge WS7.1 Students process data and information by: b. selecting and extracting information from tables, flow diagrams, other texts, audiovisual resources and graphs, including histograms and column, sector or line graphs c. accessing data and information by using a range of appropriate digital technologies e. identifying data which supports or discounts a question or hypothesis being investigated or a proposed solution to a problem WS7.2 Students analyse data and information by: a. analysing patterns and trends, including identifying inconsistencies in data and information b. describing relationships between variables c. assessing the validity and reliability of first-hand data d. using knowledge of scientific concepts to draw conclusions that are consistent with evidence f. evaluating conclusions and evidence, including identifying sources of uncertainty and possible alternative explanations Where can I get this? The specific virtual labs module can be found here: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/raven6/lab6/labs/lab6/exp1/index.html While the range of modules can be found here: http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073031208/student_view0/virtual_labs.html __FORCETOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ __NOINDEX__